


Brothers in Arms

by Ford_Ye_Fiji



Category: Castle
Genre: Angst, Babies, Background Relationships, Bromance, Brotp, Cute, Episode Tag, Episode: s06e11 Under Fire, Fire, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Jenny, Mentions of Sarah Grace, No Slash, One of My Favorites, Sadness, best episode on tv, gen - Freeform, ish, that episode killed me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-12-08 01:39:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11636268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ford_Ye_Fiji/pseuds/Ford_Ye_Fiji
Summary: Surely this is hell, he thinks.





	1. Hell

Surely this is hell, he thinks. Orange and ruby flames licking at the roof above them like hungry animals gnawing at the crumbling concrete. The crackle, the growl of phantom flickering shapes prowling above, greedily awaiting the time when it could consume the rapidly declining detectives below. Yellow sparks rain down, obscured and dimmed by the slow wafting curtains of gray smoke.

Surely, this must be hell.

He chuckles to himself, Esposito would laugh and say he was letting his imagination get the better of him again. If he was awake.

Ryan turned his head, dirt and pebbles digging into his scalp painfully. Even that small movement is an enormous effort. Kevin knows he's going, slowly but surely, as soot clings to his body, ash clogs his lungs, and the heat slicks his face with sweat. The air burns hot as he sucks in the rapidly dissipating oxygen. Esposito sits, eyes still closed, unmoved by Ryan's desperate plea a few minutes before. His partner, his brother in arms, his best friend is dead to the world. He hopes, he prays, not permanently. Ryan grimaces as the solid surface of the old hard concrete presses into his backside. It won't do any favors for his back.

_You say that as if we're gonna get out of here, bro._

Ryan huffs and fights to keep his eyes open, "Don' worry Javi. I'm gonna get you outta here. You're... You're gonna be an uncle and I'm gonna be... I'm gonna be there for... For my kid, Javi."

_I know, bro. Cause you won't shut up about it._

Ryan chuckles, his laugh turns into a wracking cough. The tongues of flame lick at the rubble around them. His shirts sticks to him uncomfortably. The homicide detective thinks he's going, because Esposito was there motionless and asleep. But he could hear him clear as day and voice unaffected by the strain and stress of the fire.

Kevin rasped, voice hoarse, "Javi... I- I wanted to say that you were the best partner I coulda asked for, ya know? I- I don't think I would've made it with... With you homicide cops without," he paused to cough, a deep racking cough that set his throat on fire, "without you showin me the ropes, Javi."

_You're an idiot, Kevin. And tougher than you look. You would've made it with or without my help._

The sharp acrid smell of smoke and fire filled the room, the lazy scent of impending doom. They were gonna die down here, no matter what Kevin did. Javi had succumbed to the carbon monoxide, Ryan knew he'd follow soon. Which was ironic, because that usually happened. Esposito led the charge and Ryan followed him into the fray, come hell or high water. And follow him into hell he had.

He didn't regret it. He wouldn't take it back for anything. Even if it meant he could see Jenny and his baby one last time. Even if it meant he could actually hold _his child_ for the first time. Even if he didn't regret it, he still...

His voice chokes on his words, from pain or tears or fire, he doesn't know which, "I- I don't want to die, Javi."

_I know, man. Me neither._

His voice is weak and faded, seemingly the form of dust molded and transformed into a sound, "You're... You're not going to leave without me?"

_Nah, Kev. I'm with you till the wheels fall off, remember?_

"Yeah, Javi. I remember..." His unborn child, his strong and brave and kind wife.... Ryan knew then that he was never going to see them.

"Till the wheels fall off."

His eyes slid closed against the hungry flickering flames and inescapable hazy room, and the voice said no more as darkness consumed them both.


	2. Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surely this is heaven, he thinks.

Surely this is heaven, he thinks. And surely this is an angel. She's small, so small and fragile in his arms. Damp blond hair curls gently on the nape of her neck, beautiful crystal clear blue eyes closed in a peaceful slumber and long lashes resting on her pink rosy cheeks. Her little button nose wrinkles with a sense of discomfort in her sleep before her brow smooths again.

Her newly cleaned and soft head was nearly swallowed by his scrubbed clean hands. A futile gesture considering the state of muck and ash the rest of his body was in. Ten tiny perfect fingers spasmed randomly and ten small toes squirmed in her blanket. She seemed so fragile and delicate engulfed in her blankets.

His lips part with wonder and joy, they made _this_. This tiny new life sleeping gently in his arms. He'd thought he could never love anything more than Jenny. His wife was still more precious than gold to him, more precious than his own life, but Ryan knew Sarah Grace was suddenly, inexplicably, and forever more one of the most important people in his life.

Speaking of, he looked up, one arm cradling his baby girl protectively and the other grasping his wife's hand in a death grip. Jenny sleeps, the exhaustion from the fire and the labor knocking her out more effectively than any sedative would.

This really must be heaven. There was no way they had escaped the raging fires of hell so unscathed.

Jenny has never looked more wonderful, her hands perfect and small grasped in his still faintly stained fingers. Her hair splayed out on the white of the pillow like threads of pure gold. He breathes deeply again, the hard plastic of the oxygen mask reminding him that this is real and not some hallucinogenic dream as he teetered on the cusp of death.

Ryan looked up at the small hesitant cough at the door of hospital room they'd been moved too.

Esposito stands uncharacteristically unsure, face soft at the sight of the small growing family. He sees the disbelief in his partner's face and assures him, "Don't worry, Kev. This is real, as real as you or me, bro."

His relief is palpable, the thought at not taking his best friend's word never crossing his mind. After that release of anxiety, Kevin's face breaks out into a grin, "Javi, have you met Sarah Grace?"

Esposito steps into the small circle they make, even if one is still sweaty and exhausted from the bloody trial of giving birth, even if the other is still streaked with ash and marred by flames and broken by concrete beams, even if the last one is a new life just welcomed into this broken world, they make a perfect family.

Surely this is what heaven will feel like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just really love babies, guys.

**Author's Note:**

> I JUST SAW THIS EPISODE FOR THE FIRST TIME. IT WAS AMAZING!!


End file.
